TGI Friday’s, North Ryde

TGI Friday’s is a popular American restaurant chain that has finally arrived in Australia and opened their first Sydney branch! It is located on the cinema level of Macquarie Centre (near the bus stops), featuring booths, tables and bar seating all embellished with their signature red and white branding, along with plasma screens playing American football.

A quick glance of their menu shows that it’s full of American classics – burgers, ribs, steaks, buffalo wings and some Tex-Mex items too. There’s an extensive bar menu as well featuring tap beers, cocktails, shots and happy hour specials.

French Canadian Burger – $21.95

It’s so hard to choose what to get, so a friend and I split two burgers. I get the French Canadian Burger, which is a chicken burger with sweet maple syrup, crispy bacon and French brie on a toasted brioche bun. The chicken is generously thick and lean, but is grilled just enough so that it hasn’t dried out. The bun is toasty and goes well with the rest of the fillings. To top it all off, there’s a side of fries which are well seasoned and accompanied with a ramekin filled with aioli, yum!

Ultimate Jack Daniel’s Burger – $23.95

My friend gets the Ultimate Jack Daniel’s Burger; double beef patties stacked with Monterey Jack cheese, cripsy bacon and onion rings on a toasted bun. The beef patties are soft, juicy and tender and just melt in your mouth! I find this burger similar to a super-sized version of a McDonald’s cheeseburger, but way more delicious and nowhere near as oily. The dish is also served with a side of Jack Daniel’s glaze, which tastes like a sweet barbeque sauce that goes amazingly when you pour some on the burger, or eat it with the chips. The only fault with this dish are the onion rings which aren’t as crispy as they look, but that is easily forgotten compared to the rest of the dish.

Vegetable Quesadillas – $18.95

My other friend decides to not go for meat tonight (I would say this is the wrong restaurant choice!) and orders the Vegetable Quesadillas. These contain cheddar cheese, spinach, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, chilli and coriander all pan-fried in a tortilla. However, all I can taste is cheese cheese and cheese! You can tell there are other ingredients inside the quesadilla, but the cheese easily overpowers it unfortunately.

I think I’ve found a new favourite restaurant when it comes to burgers! They are juicy and full of flavour and TGI Friday’s demonstrates that they’ve definitely perfected the American classic. Their only down fall is that food service is a bit slow (30 minutes) but the food thankfully makes up for it. The next time I come back, I’ll be sure to try out their other meat dishes including steaks and ribs. Just a quick note – as we were leaving, there was a queue outside so I would suggest booking when you visit.

I had the ribs on a separate visit but didn’t review it here. They’re served plain with the Jack Daniels sauce on the side. Quite boring if you try it plain but when you pour the sauce on it tasted really good. It also comes with chips and coleslaw as well!

Who are we?

Excuse Me Waiter is a documented food adventure run by two hungry Gen Y food fanatics DK & Yvn. We can often be found roaming Sydney in search of interesting foods from food courts to high-end restaurants.